Human Rights Watch said that children in Gaza have been dying from complications related to starvation, since Israel began using starvation as a weapon of war, which is a war crime.

Omar Shaker, director of Israel and Palestine affairs at Human Rights Watch, said: “It has been proven that Israel used starvation as a weapon of war that kills children in Gaza,” demanding that Israel end this war crime, stop this suffering, and allow humanitarian aid to reach all parts of Gaza without obstacles.

The organization stressed that children, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, suffer from acute malnutrition and dehydration, and that hospitals are not equipped to treat them, calling on the governments concerned to impose targeted sanctions and suspend the transfer of weapons to pressure the Israeli government to ensure that the residents of Gaza receive humanitarian aid and basic services, in accordance with Israel's obligations under international law and the recent order issued by the International Court of Justice in the genocide case brought by South Africa.

It pointed out that “before the current Israeli aggression, about 1.2 million of Gaza’s then 2.2 million people were facing severe food insecurity, and more than 80% of them relied on humanitarian aid. Israel exercises comprehensive control over Gaza, including the movement The people, goods, territorial waters, airspace, and infrastructure on which the sector depends.”

It pointed out that the continued Israeli bombing and ground operations, the lack of security guarantees on the part of Israel, the extensive damage to infrastructure, and the disruption of communications, all make it difficult to distribute the little aid that reaches Gaza.